Howard: Drenthe gives us extra dimension

Tim Howard believes that Royston Drenthe gives Everton that extra creatitivity they need to break teams down.

The Dutchman has scored three times and racked up nine assists so far this season, and despite question marks still hanging over his defensive duties, Howard is of the opinion that the 24 year old plays an instrumental part in Everton’s attacking play.

“Royston has been a spark for us,” said Howard. “Often he’s been coming on late, but when he started against Fulham [in October] he got us the goal, and he got us the goal against Blackpool.

“He’s lively and the amount of fouls he draws is incredible – he makes defenders miss.

“It’s a mixed bag from him… but if he does pick the ball up on the wing and faces you up, nine times out of 10 he’s going to beat you, or you’ll bring him down.

“That’s a big plus for us to take the sting out of the game, and get us up the park.

“He just needs to play his football. He’s got a different attitude than most, but we’ve often relied on him to give us something different.

“We’re not really a flashy team by any stretch of the imagination but he’s got that guile and craftiness to him that can set us apart in certain ways. We need that.”